Robin Williams back in rehab to work on 'continued commitment' to staying sober

Robin Williams on Nov. 30, 2011. Photo Credit: AP / Dan Steinberg

Comedian Robin Williams has entered a sobriety-renewal program to help maintain his eight years free of drugs and alcohol, his representative said Tuesday.

"After working back-to-back projects, Robin is simply taking the opportunity to fine-tune and focus on his continued commitment, of which he remains extremely proud," the spokesman said in a statement to Newsday. Williams, who recently completed the single-season CBS sitcom "The Crazy Ones," appeared in four films last year and has at least two scheduled for 2014.

TMZ.com was first to report that Williams is at the Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center near Lindstrom, Minnesota, in a facility called The Lodge. That Hazelden unit houses the Dan Anderson Renewal Center, which, according to its website, works "to affirm, strengthen, and celebrate your recovery" and help maintain long-term sobriety.

Word had leaked Sunday night when Williams, whose age most sources give as 62, was photographed at the Lindstrom Dairy Queen, posing with a 15-year-old DQ worker. The ice-cream shop, within walking distance of the Center, posted the image on Facebook.

The Academy Award-winning supporting actor ("Good Will Hunting," 1997), three-time lead-actor Oscar-nominee ("Good Morning, Vietnam," 1987; "Dead Poets Society," 1989; and "The Fisher King," 1991) and two-time Emmy Award winner has publicly discussed his past alcohol and cocaine additions. But he said he quit cold turkey in 1982 after the death of his friend, comedian John Belushi, at age 33 and before the birth of his eldest son, Zack, the next year. He relapsed and went into rehab in 2006.